Pathilogical Liar
by Sexy Bookworm
Summary: Because, in rough times, we lie to ourselves. And then we need someone to tell us the truth. And in the middle there is bathtubs, pancakes, and hurt. Not Slash. Just fluffy hurt/comfort. One shot.


Note: Greetings, new friends. Here's a little angst-y one shot. Just for the record, Reid is my favorite. So I'm torturing him. FUN! Caleb is in second. Haha. Enjoy. NOT SLASH!

_"All things are difficult before they are easy."- Thomas Fuller_

By nine O'clock, Saturday night, two days after his mother's funeral, Reid Garwin, in his opinion, had become a pathological liar. He _told _himself, his friends, and everybody else, he was fine. Ok. Perfect. Fucking dandy. Oh yes, he was an amazing liar. Even as he lay motionless in his bathtub, fully clothed, he _told _himself he was fine.

His mother was by no means perfect. But, hell, she was his mother. He loved her, even when he didn't want to.

His dad had died before he could even gain memories of him. His mom was all he had. And now she was gone. Dead. Bye. Car accident.

Not that he'd admit that, because he was a pathological liar.

Reid sighed, rolled onto his right side, and squinted at the clock. Thursday, after the funeral, he had come home in a daze, showered, put clothes on, and tried to go to bed. But, damn it, there were too many traces of her in the house. You never realize how much _stuff _a person has until they are gone. After an hour of attempting to sleep, he recklessly paced the house for a while, broke a vase, accidentally caused a picture or two to go flying across the room (Apparently, when going through grief, you didn't have much control of your powers. Not that he would admit that), and since, he was a pathological liar, he told himself that the reason he was laying in the bathtub was not because in every room but the bathroom there were too many traces and memories of his mother, but because he simply wanted to.

So, here he was, two days later. Still unmoving. Reid was sure that eventually Tyler, or even Caleb or Pogue would come over to see if he was ok. In fact, he was pretty sure he had heard the doorbell ring once or twice. But since he was a pathological liar, he told himself that wouldn't happen.

Reid shifted, and heard his joints crack. He wasn't sure if he had fallen asleep within the last two days or not.

Reid decided that maybe he could use some sleep, and closed his eyes. Focusing on only the sound of the heat coming from the vent from next to the bathtub. He was nearly asleep, for the first time in god knows how long, when he heard banging on the front door.

Reid groaned softly, but didn't make a move to leave the bathtub. He _really _didn't want to deal with people right now. Not their sad faces, their sympathetic smiles, or any of that crap that didn't make him feel any better. That didn't make the pain go away.

Not that he felt bad in the first place. Or at least that's what he told himself.

"Dude, come on! Open the damn door!" Shouted the voice. Crap, it was Tyler. Figures. The kid would probably break in. Reid told himself he didn't care, though. That he didn't need him.

Reid then heard the sound of the doors being unlocked. Huh, he was using to break into his house. Normally he'd make some teasing comment about that, but, right now, he was too tired to. Well, or so he told himself.

"What the heck Reid? Do you know how to answer your phone? We've been calling you nonstop for the last two days!" Reid heard Tyler say as he entered the house. Reid momentarily considered yelling back at him, but decided against it. He didn't really feel like shouting right now.

"Reid? Where are you? Is that glass on the floor? Hello?" Said Tyler, as he suddenly appear at the bathroom door, and walked over to the bathtub where Reid lay.

"Hey, Tyler. Fancy meeting you here." Said Reid, his voice slightly horse from having not used it in two days. He coughed, in an attempt to clear his throat, and Tyler looked at him worriedly.

"Yeah, real odd. So, what have you been up to?" Said Tyler, his voice oddly soft this time. Reid winced. God, he must have looked horrible to receive that tone.

"Ah, nothing much. Just lying in the bathtub." Said Reid, as he worked hard to keep his voice cool and casual. He couldn't let himself feel now, he knew he'd lose it if he did. There was then a small pause, and Tyler sat down on the toilet that was next to the bathtub.

"What's with the broken glass in the other room?" Asked Tyler, after another silent moment. Reid simply did his best to shrug, even though he was laying down and in a bathtub. Reid could have come back with a sarcastic comment, but he didn't have the energy. God, it just hurt so…

Wait, no. He didn't hurt. He was a really good liar…

Tyler then simply sat there, his eyes fixed on the blue bathroom wall across from him. Dang him, he knew eventually Reid wouldn't be able to stand the silence. But never, would Reid admit that it felt good having him here.

The silence went on for god knows how long, and all the while Reid kept lying to himself. Lying that he didn't want to talk to Tyler, lying that he didn't feel pain, lying that he was fine, lying as to why he was laying in his bathtub in the first place.

Before he even knew what was going on, the words were simply exploding out of him, "It hurts." Muttered Reid, as he barred his face in his hands, and wished death upon the person who had hit his mother, then drove away.

Tyler looked over at Reid and sighed, as he wished the same thing, for his best friend's sake, "I'm not going to say I know how it feels, because I don't. But I will say I believe you, and I think it must hurt like hell."

Oh shit, why did Tyler have to say that? Reid took a shaky breath, and tried to continue.

"I just want it to stop hurting. They say our powers can do anything, but it doesn't stop the hurt," Reid said, ashamed that his voice shook that bad.

"They seem kind of useless, when you look at them that way, huh?"

Reid closed his eyes, willing back the light moisture at the corners of his eyes.

"Yeah, they do." He muttered, suddenly feeling very cold, but not very lonely.

"Hey, Reid?" Said Tyler after a short pause, his voice low. "Yeah?" Mumbled Reid in response. His eyes still firmly shut, the words 'I'm fine', being said in his head like a mantra.

"When was the last time you ate or slept?" Reid knew that question was coming. For a split second, he considered telling the truth. Then he didn't.

"Not sure, this morning?" He said, his tone indicating that the statement was a question.

"Liar," Said Tyler with a smile. That's when Reid realized there was a downside to having people who knew you better than you knew yourself.

"If you already know the answer to the question, why did you bother asking it?" Said Reid, feeling a little bit better at Tyler's playful comment.

"I didn't say I knew the answer, I just know when you're lying," Said Tyler, as he shifted his position on the toilet, but his gaze didn't waiver from Reid, who knew that Tyler was still expecting an answer.

"Um, Last time I slept was Wednesday…Or maybe Friday, I'm not sure. Last time I ate was…Thursday…" Muttered Reid, who, after seeing the look on Tyler's face, decided the truth was severely overrated.

"God, what the heck are you thinking? Never mind, were having microwave pancakes, come on," Said Tyler, slightly disapprovingly, as he stood up and waited for Reid.

Reid sighed and wearily rubbed his face, knowing there was no way he would get out of this. Carefully, and with one hand clinging to the side of the tub, he stumbled to his feet, out of the tub, and gripped the edge of the counter for support. Tyler's hand quickly grabbed his friend's upper arm, in an attempt to steady him. Reid glared at him in response.

"I'm fine," Reid grunted as he shifted his weight and the dizziness cleared. Tyler just shook his head.

"Liar," He said, and the two left the bathroom. Reid carefully averted his eyes from the broken vase and pictures in the living room, as they made their way to the kitchen. Once there, He sat on one of the bar stools around the counter as Tyler rooted through the freezer.

"You know, Caleb and Pogue expect me to report back on you to them. Anything in particular you want me to say?" Said Tyler with a smile as he found the microwave pancakes, and slipped them onto a plate and into the microwave. Reid glared at him for his comment, and said, "You can tell them I'm just fine."

"In most societies, laying in your bathtub for two days after your mother dies is not considered fine," Said Tyler dryly. Reid shifted awkwardly, trying to keep what little lies and composure he had left with him.

"So, did I miss anything good at school?" Said Reid, as he swiftly tried to change the subject. Tyler shook his head as the microwave beeped, signaling that the pancakes were done.

"Nah, the usual crap."

"I bet the ladies missed me."  
"Yeah, and I bet the teachers celebrated the fact that you were gone," Said Tyler as he handed Reid the pancakes, butter, syrup, knife, and fork. Reid raised his eyebrows, and said, "I thought you said we were having pancakes, as opposed to me."

Tyler shrugged, "I lied, you lie, I can lie. Now eat the damn things or I'll call in the Calvary."

Reid rolled his eyes at his friend's comment, ate the dang food (Although, due to the lack of food he's consumed in the last couple of days, there were a few times when it threatened to come back up.). As much as it pained him to admit, he was pretty tired…

"Dude, go lay on the sofa before you fall asleep." Said Tyler, causing Reid to snap awake.

"Whatever," He said, but, nonetheless, went over and laid on the sofa. Tyler followed behind and laid on the floor. As Reid was dozing off through, he looked over at his best friend.

"You really want to know the truth?"

"Sure."

"I'm not fine."  
"I already knew that."

Then, Reid finally gave into sleep, and Tyler got to his feet, tossed a blanket that was laying around over his friend, and walked back into the kitchen. He then took out his cell phone, and hit speed dial 5, which was Caleb.

"Hey."

"So, did he finally let you in?" Asked Caleb, who Tyler was sure was with Pogue.

"No, I had to use to get in. I found him in the bathtub."

"The bathtub?"  
"And in denial. But mostly the bathtub."  
"Well, that's not good. Is he ok now?" Tyler then gazed over at his friend, and noticed the dried tear streaks.  
"Yeah. Asleep. He was scaring me at first, though. I think I'm going to stick around for the rest of tonight."

"You have anything to do?"  
"Uh, TV?"  
"We'll be there in 15 with cards."

"Blackjack?"  
"It's on. See you then." Tyler then said his goodbye's, and smiled a bit. Happy because things might actually turn out ok, and happy, because he had finally pulled one over on Reid.

Tyler was willing to bet he had no idea his food was drugged.


End file.
